Sarah Brightman explores space, literally and artistically

Classical crossover singer Sarah Brightman was in a seemingly exotic locale when she called for a recent phone interview to promote her latest CD, "Dreamchaser," and her fall tour in support of the album.

She was in a studio in Gozo, a sister island to Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, off the north coast of Africa.

But that's nothing compared to where Brightman's travels may take her in 2015. She's on track to fly to the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz rocket as part of a 10-day mission.

This pending space experience was a major inspiration both for her current album, "Dreamchaser," which was released in April, and a follow-up CD she has already started recording (hence the session on Gozo).

"Because of what I've been going through recently with some of the space training and learning what I have been doing, I've just been incredibly inspired," Brightman says. "It's given me the idea of space, the theme of the album, the universe, the stars and the planets and all of those wonderful emotions that space can evoke in human beings."

Fascination with space and with flight is nothing new for Brightman, 53. Her father flew light aircraft and shared his love of aviation with his daughter.

"I was taken around to every air show that there was," Brightman says. "I learned about airplanes and flight and in light aircraft at a very young age. Later on, I did some Harrier jet training, which I loved. So I had a little understanding of what you go through with G [force acceleration]."

Growing up in the 1960s and '70s, Brightman was also the right age to experience the wonder of space travel when the United States and the Soviet Union were racing to be the first to land on the moon.

"That was something that was very inspiring for me as a child," she says. "And of course, watching on the TV screen the first man on the moon, it was life-changing. I don't think there's been anything yet to date that's happened that's as big as that and expansive as that. Then growing up through the '70s, of course music was incredibly inspiring. We had the Beatles, we had Pink Floyd coming up, we had David Bowie. Everything was very themed.

"Everything in a way, in its sound, was expansive and slightly space oriented because of what I think we all had been through in that earlier time."

Now Brightman is preparing to experience space travel first-hand. Her trip is not coming cheap — and not without a measure of controversy.

She booked her ticket through Space Adventures, a private space experience company for a reported $31 million in Canadian dollars.

Some have said she booked the space flight as a publicity stunt for "Dreamchaser" and her world tour.

Brightman, however, has already taken some very real steps in training for space travel. She went to Houston last year for a battery of medical tests. Then later last summer, she traveled to the Russian space center in Star City for two weeks of training and tests.

"I had to do the medicals in Houston to see if I was even right to go to Star City," Brightman says. "I got through everything really, really well."

The training in Star City was more extensive and, as Brightman explains, designed to see if physically and mentally she was suited for space travel.

"I didn't know what to expect," Brightman says. "I was put in the centrifuge. There was a high-altitude chamber, a rotating chair, which makes you feel incredibly nauseous. There were lots of psychological tests. I had never done a psychological test in my life, and I didn't know what to expect. It was tough and made me really think more about myself. It was a completely different environment for me. But I got through all of the tests really well. I didn't suffer from any claustrophobia whatsoever. The centrifuge I loved and would have loved to go to more Gs if I could."

Her next big test is still to come. After finishing her world tour, which brings her to the Sands Bethlehem Event Center Sunday and continues through Dec. 3, she is due back in Star City next year for six months of additional training that will include fitness work, zero-gravity simulations on training aircraft, courses on how to cope with space and emergency drills.

"I'm feeling very positive about it and huge excitement, a huge amount of anticipation," she says. "I think I have a real desire and a real need to do this if I can."

Back on Earth, Brightman is musically and visually featuring celestial themes.

"I've got a lot, not only from what people are going to hear with the music, but also a lot visually for people to look at," Brightman says. "We have beautiful, big screens. I don't want to give too much away."

Material from "Dreamchaser" will be featured, and Brightman says the show will touch on her previous 10 albums as well.

"I've managed to find a way to thread all of the pieces together so it feels very seamless," she says.

Those previous albums (as well as her elaborate concert tours) have made Brightman a leading star on the global classical-crossover scene.